This invention relates to a shatter resistant safety enclosure for glass bottles and jugs which typically contain hazardous materials such as toxic, caustic or flammable liquids.
Recent years have seen a considerable increase in the use of flammable or hazardous solvents in the laboratory. The growth of analytical techniques such as gas chromatography and liquid chromatography demand the use of these hazardous materials for sample preparation and subsequent manipulation. Since large volumes are commonly necessary, the standard container has become the one-gallon glass bottle. Although the glass container is essential to preserve the integrity of the contents, the fragility and potential hazard from accidental breakage is of great concern to most users. Breakage of a gallon container of hazardous material can lead to exposure of workers to toxic or caustic fumes or liquids as well as create a substantial possibility of fire in the case of a flammable material.
One means currently in use for the protection of laboratory reagent bottles requires an integral coating of the bottle with polyvinyl chloride applied by a dipping process. The procedure leads to a solvent soluble coating which can subsequently lead to contamination of the contents and destruction of the coating by dribbling of the contents during use.
Another integral coating process in current use features a solvent resistant material that must be applied to a heated bottle. This eliminates the advantage of applying the protection after filling the container and again can lead to internal contamination of the bottle itself during the coating process. The hot bottle process is also inapplicable to some types of bottles, for example, those that cannot stand the shock of the rapid heating and cooling demanded by the process.
A third type of protective device currently in use is a heavy, pre-molded plastic pail type container with a snap down lid. The shape and configuration of this device are such that it is heavy and ungainly, has a non-integral handle and requires considerably more space in storage than the bottle guard according to the invention described herein. It is also not designed for use during the shipment of hazardous materials.